Aztecs 4th Edition
This will be a 4th Edition D&D campaign based on the Pre-Columbian New World, and especially ancient Mexico. I've never run 4th Edition before, so this is going to be a learning experience. For that reason, I'll also need you all to start at 1st level. This takes place on a supercontinent known as the Land Between the Waters, and characters would start in the city of Tecpatlan--"Place of the Knife." For centuries, the civilization founded by a group called the Artisans ruled the Land Between the Waters under the benevolent guiding hand of the god-emperor Plumed Serpent. The Artisans were a skilled and talented people. Mechanically adept and philosophically advanced, they invented many of the technologies, agricultural practices, and religious rituals that the people of the Land Between the Waters still practice today. Problematically, one of the regents selected by Plumed Serpent was a man named Huemac, who secretly worshipped Plumed Serpent's brother, Smoking Mirror. As the influence of Smoking Mirror's sorcery infested the empire of the Artisans, war, chaos, and strife destroyed their civilization. Other empires have arisen in the intervening centuries, but the ruins, wondrous inventions, and secrets of the Artisans still fill the Land.
Pleistocene megafauna still exist, especially in the dark, untamed north. So yes, it's possible to be an Eagle Knight cavalryman mounted on a painted horse (or camel, or mastodon howdah). In the more settled regions of the continent, most of the non-domesticated megafauna have died out, but in the distant mountains and plains of the Dog People, smilodons, dire wolves and short-faced bears all still lurk. The seas are menaced by zeuglodons and coastal legends still speak of sharks capable of biting trading canoes in half.
In a similar vein, metal weapons, tools and armor are all used in this world, though needless to say they all look a lot more Indigenous Mexican in appearance. Swords, for instance, tend to be rectangle-bladed like Aztec macanas rather than pointed like European swords.
Major cultures in the post-Artisan Age include (with real-world bases in parentheses):
--The Eagle People (Aztec/Nahua): Founders of a great military empire, the Eagle People provoke everything from fear to hatred in the other people of the region. Known for their strategic and engineering skills.
--The Jaguar People (Maya): A secretive and advanced culture found in the jungles of the south, the Jaguar People are famous for their skills in mathematics, astronomy, writing, and calendrics, and are one of the oldest groups in the Land Between the Waters, being the one surviving culture that has existed since the days of the ancient Artisans.
--The Cloud People (Zapotec/Mixtec): A culture known for its metalworking and artistry, currently subjugated by the Eagle People.
--The Fish People (Tarascans): On the western coast of the Land Between the Waters lies an empire to rival that of the Eagle People. The Fish People are profoundly different from the rest of the cultures of the region, being ruled by a hereditary, divine Kazonzi who is viewed as the child of a strange sun god.
--The Dog People (North American Tribes): Barbarous nomads to the north, the Dog People live in the vast wilderness beyond the civilized lands of the empires and states of the Land Between the Waters. Frequently they come to the Land Between the Waters as traders, mercenaries and slaves.
--The Mountain People (Incans): Living further south even than the Jaguar People, the Mountain People maintain their own empire in the high peaks of the Antis and have little to do with the Land Between the Waters beyond the occasional trading mission or team of mercenaries. That could, of course, change. . . .
--The Sea People (Carib/Arawak): These islanders raid each other and trade with the Jaguar People. Their navigational skills are great, as is their knowledge of the seas east of the Land Between the Waters.
At present, these are given more as fluff than anything, since as I mentioned, this is my maiden foray into 4E DMing and I'm not feeling too comfortable delving into background traits just yet. I also plan to include the following races as options for PCs. The changes here are purely reflavoring to fit the setting.
--Chaneques (Halflings): Small, cannibalistic tribesmen who live in the deep jungles of the Land Between the Waters. Often found trading with the Jaguar People, the Chaneques are often found in service to the military empires of the Mountain People and the Eagle People as shock troops and scouts.
--Tlaloques (Dragonborn): Beings strongly associated with the Rain God known as the Provider, Tlaloques resemble tusked, green-skinned, frog-like humanoids with tapir noses. Tlaloques, like dragonborn, have breath weapons, though reflavored as follows (to be more weather god appropriate): Boiling Rain (Acid), Frost (Cold), Scorching Drought (Fire), Lightning, Blight (Poison).
--Nahualli (Shifters): Enigmatic people who can partially take the form of a totemic animal. Mechanically the same as Shifters, but for flavor's sake I want you to choose an animal as your totem, like a jaguar, eagle, etc. Note that your totemic animal and your culture's animal affiliation (like "Eagle People") don't have to match. In fact, I just came up with those culture names so nobody would have to wade through a torrent of Nahuatl, Mayan, and Quechuan.
--Aluxes (Gnomes): Fey creatures who live among the Jaguar People, the Aluxes look like tiny natives and are known for their skills with sorcery and their quickness.
--Men of the First Sun (Goliaths): Descendants of one of the first sets of human beings the Gods created, these giants are herbivorous and did not provide the Gods with proper sacrifices and thus were mostly destroyed. The few who survive are far more grim and battle-prone than their ancestors.
--Men of the Third Sun (Half-Orcs): Descendants of the third group of humans made by the Gods. They, too, failed to honor their makers appropriately and were destroyed. The few survivors became the monkey-like survivors who take the place of half-orcs in this campaign setting.
--Coyotecs (Gnolls): These creatures live in small tribes throughout the Land Between the Waters. Rather than being hyena-like, they are similar to humanoid coyotes. Distrusted for their unpredictability and thieving, they are frequently discriminated against in more provincial communities.
--Chalchitecs (Warforged): Literally "the jade people," the Chalchitecs are automatons built in the days of the Artisans who still roam the world. They are fantastically complex in appearance, frequently covered with glyphs, bas-reliefs, and inlays of jewels (hence their name).
--Xibalbans (Shadar-Kai): The Shadar-Kai are mortal creatures who hail from the Nine Lands of the Dead, the underworld beneath the Land Between the Waters. Feared and hated, they nonetheless are valued for their knowledge and ability to steal into and out of guarded places unseen. The Xibalbans look like skeletal, gray people with hands in place of their lower jaws. Despite being the tongueless, the Xibalbans can speak perfectly well.
Which brings us to the point where I say what I'm looking for:
--I want three players who are interested in the concept and willing to come up with creative, engaging characters.
--I don't want to see any elves, dwarves, eladrin, tieflings, or other standard race. They don't exist here. And no drow. Ever.
--No character backgrounds that reference things like Atlantis, aliens, or anything whatsoever related to 2012. The Artisans are actually based off Aztec views of the culture who preceded them--the Toltecs. Oh, and I don't want any references made to Phoenician-like cultures discovering the New World, African origins for ancient Mexican civilization, etc. etc. If you absolutely must be a non-native, I'll listen to your proposal, but the odds are stacked very heavily against you.
--Most classes are okay for this game with the exception of spellswords and wizards. Paladins are only found among the Mountain People, since most other regions are too warm for heavy armor, and represent fanatical warriors devoted to the Sun. Shamans would be appropriate priests for smaller tribal cultures, like the Sea People or the Dog People. Druids work well, since Mexican myth has a long tradition of people changing into animals. Aztec society believed in evil sorcerers called Heart Eaters who sent sickness to their victims and generally did bad stuff. Infernal Pact Warlocks could fit that mold pretty well, and the long history or astronomy and astrology in the Aztec world makes Star Pact Warlocks fit right in as well. Fey Pact Warlocks represent those who work with the spirits of nature. Just tell me what idea you have, and I'll help work it into the campaign world.
--Don't worry about trying to give your character a Nahuatl-, Mayan- or Incan-sounding name. Just call him or her something in English, with the proper feel. Aztec names for historical people included Handful of Reeds (more commonly known as Motecuhzoma--Montezuma), Descending Eagle (the last Emperor) and Fasting Coyote (a brilliant philosopher king). Women's names included Precious Broken Quetzal Plume, Waterfowl, Jade Jewel, etc. Mayan names followed similar lines: Shield, Priest Jaguar, Lady Shark. Incan names tended to be dramatic and somewhat bombastic: Lord of the Cataclysm, Golden Chain, etc.
Whew! I think that's all for now. Thanks, all!
